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Tagliatelle or calzone? We decode your favourite Italian dishes

Open the food menu with confidence next time you dine at an authentic Italian restaurant. From explaining your fettuccine and your linguine, and your antipasti from your primi, this guide will ensure you know exactly what you are ordering. Most of us would have been in a situation where we just didn't understand what we were ordering, but you can become the Italian food connoisseur you've always wanted to be.

Get to know your pasta

The different shapes and sizes of pasta are made for different sauces and dishes, so here is a quick guide to help you next time you are stuck trying to figure out which pasta is which at the restaurant.

Type

Description

Best for

Angel hair

Very fine and delicate long strands

Light sauces

Linguine

Long noodle about 6-9mm wide, with an elliptical cross-section

Most sauces

Fettuccine (or tagliatelle)

Long flat noodle, wider than linguine

Thick, meat-based sauces

Spaghetti

Long, round, thin strands

Nearly any sauce, as well as stir-fry dishes

Penne

Small tubes

Thick sauces and baked dishes

Rigatoni

Short tubes with ridges

Thick sauces and baked dishes, similar to penne

Conchiglie

Small, shell-shaped with open cavity

Soups and most sauces

Rotini

Short, spiral-shaped

Pasta salad or most sauces, as it holds bits of meat, vegetables and cheese

Farfalle

Bow-tie shaped

Most sauces due to thickness

Ravioli

Square or round pillow-like shapes with a filling inside

Red sauces or even butter, oil or cream

Even bread and pizza have different styles

There may come a time when you decide to order a different pizza to the one you have been getting your whole adult life. When that time comes, you'll want to be prepared. Depending on the restaurant you go to, you may find yourself a little confused by some of the terms used to describe types of pizza and bread. We've explained a few terms used to help build up your pizza-picking confidence.

Neapolitan pizza

White pizza

Calzone

Cooked in a wood-burning oven, making for a thin crust with a puffy edge, with a tomato base

Made without a tomato base, usually replaced with oil and garlic

Traditional pizza folded in half

Focaccia

Fritta

Romana

Type of flat bread made with yeast and olive oil and usually flavoured with herbs

Reading the menu

Of course it's good to know your rotini from your fettuccine, but it's also vital that you know whether you are ordering an entrée, main or dessert. Some authentic Italian resaurants tend to write in Italian on their menus, so read on to find out what these words actually mean.Three meal types:

Colazione = breakfast

Pranzo = lunch

Cena = dinner

Section

Description

Antipasti

Appetisers such as cured meats and cheeses

Primi

Means 'first dishes', such as pasta, risotto and soup or other entrées